• Uber.com: The brainchild of Los Angeles Entrepreneur, Travis Kalanick, Uber connects people who need rides with folks who want to turn their automobiles into moneymakers.

You're standing in the rain watching full taxicabs whiz by in any of 131 cities in 36 countries. You can use the Uber app on your smartphone to call for a driver and track the car's progress until it pulls up next to you.

The system has caught on. On June 6, 2014 the company was valued at $18 billion.

• Airbnb.comHomeowners and apartment dwellers in 33,000 cities in 190 countries have turned spare rooms into guest quarters for travelers who want to save a buck.

Founded by Nathan Blecharczyk, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia—all in their early 30s, Airbnb is valued at $10 billion.

But like Uber, the four-year-old company is getting into serious legal blowback from the heavily regulated, taxed and well-funded hotel industry and the regulators (e.g., attorneys general).

Takeaways to Consider

If you plan on circumventing industries that are booming, you need deep pockets and a cast iron stomach.

On June 25, 2014 the Supreme Court shot down the Aereo.com business model for violation of copyright. A chance exists these newly-minted uber.com and airbnb.com billionaires might also someday be worth bupkis.

Denny Hatch is the author of six books on marketing and four novels, and is a direct marketing writer, designer and consultant. His latest book is “Write Everything Right!” Visit him at dennyhatch.com.